


December 4

by VR_Trakowski



Series: Advent 2015 [4]
Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Advent Calendar, F/M, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-05 00:52:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5354693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VR_Trakowski/pseuds/VR_Trakowski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coffee, cocoa, and questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	December 4

**Author's Note:**

> Explanation [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5333558).

“Okay, for starters, Christmas is kind of _both_ a religious holiday and a, what’s the word, secular one.”  Jupiter leaned her elbows on the little coffee shop table.  “I don’t know all the history involved, but I can give you an overview if you really want to know.”

Caine sniffed the steam rising from his hot cocoa and gave her an appealing look.  “If it’s important to your Majesty, I want to know about it.”

Jupiter shrugged.  “Not as important as it is to some people, but--okay, what do you know about Earth religions?”

“Not a lot.  There are several main ones, with a history of conflict with one another, and many smaller ones.”  Caine took a sip of his drink, eyelids fluttering briefly with pleasure.  “I wasn’t expected to spend enough time here to need to know.”

“Fair enough.  Okay.”  Jupiter tore her gaze from his enjoyment and drank from her own cup, focusing on the sharper taste of coffee.  “My mom’s family is more or less Jewish, which is one of the main ones, but they aren’t very observant--it’s more a cultural thing than a religious one for us.”

She paused to think.  “Mom says my father was a Christian, which is another major religion, but I get the feeling he wasn’t very observant either.  But when I was growing up, Mom made sure to do some Christmas along with Hanukkah, because of him, and since when you’re little Christmas means presents, it kind of spread to my cousins as well.”

Jupiter smiled at the memory of Nino and Aleksa teaming up against Lyudmila to get a Christmas tree.  “Anyway, Hanukkah is more of a religious thing.  Christmas gets celebrated by people who aren’t Christians at all.”

Caine nodded.  He looked too large and dangerous for a coffee shop, even with the little device that hid his ears and teeth; the barista had considered his order for an extra-large cocoa with the doubt of someone imagining a biker on a sugar high.  Jupiter was blatantly enjoying the effect.

“Christmas has about two thousand years of history, but the way it’s celebrated today mostly began a century and a half ago.”  Jupiter couldn’t remember where she’d picked up the information, but she was pretty sure about it.  “I know that’s not a lot of time on a galactic scale, but it is to us.”

Caine nodded again, licking whipped cream off his upper lip, and Jupiter blew out a breath and reminded herself that they were in public.   _Do they have whipped cream in space?_

“So Christmas has two sides?” Caine asked.  “Religious and secular?”

Jupiter took another swallow of coffee.  “More or less, yeah.  Like I said, my family just does the secular stuff.”

Caine’s gaze was intense, and entirely serious.  “Then tell me about what you do, your Majesty.  I want to learn.”

 _How by all that’s holy am I supposed to resist **that**?_  Jupiter felt herself melt. 

_Next stop, library…_


End file.
